Sydney FC got their W-League season off to a perfect start, trouncing Melbourne Victory 5-1 at Lakeside Stadium and inflicting more pain on the home side after their Grand Final win over them last season.
Victory actually got off to a bright start when Emma Checker nodded in a Stephanie Catley corner after just three minutes, but things turned sour after that.
Goals from Leena Khamis, Jodie Taylor, Emma Kete and two for Nicola Bolger rounded out a comprehensive Sydney performance, as they outplayed their opponents over the 90 minutes.
Emily Hulbert was handed her debut for Melbourne Victory in midfield along with New Zealand international Katie Hoyle, while Gulcan Koca joined new signing Checker, Catley and Jessica Humble in the backline.
Before either team had a strong foothold on the game, Victory won an early corner and took full advantage of it.
Catley swung in the corner on the right side of the pitch to the top of the six yard box, where Emma Checker leapt high to nod the ball into the back of the net.
From there Sydney began to work their way into the game, and started to exploit gaps within the Victory defence.
The home side did however remain dangerous on the counter through Lisa De Vanna who almost put Victory 2-0 up with a solo run from halfway into the box, but her finish to the far post was well saved by Casey Dumont.
It proved to be vital as Sydney equalised a couple of minutes later.
Ellyse Perry swung a corner to the back post, where it was nodded back for Samantha Kerr to climb above Humble and head at goal.
Davey did her best to parry the header onto the crossbar but the rebound fell to Leena Khamis who happily smashed into the roof of the net to level matters.
The Sky Blues only carried on from there as they took the lead four minutes later through Nicola Bolger.
Jodie Taylor found a pocket of space behind Victory’s midfield, and played a through ball for Khamis but it was flicked away by Catley into the path of Bolger who tapped in her first goal on the match.
Just past the half hour, Amy Harrison stormed forward from left back and was almost rewarded but her effort whizzed past the near post.
Victory were struggling to contain a Sydney, as their lack of cohesion began to cost them.
De Vanna was proving the one outlet for the home side, her effort on 33 minutes whizzing over the bar, but it was an opportunity that came very much against the run of play.
Needing to change something, Edmondson brought on Enza Barilla for Hulbert, who had endured a baptism of fire on her debut.
The hosts did start with decent pressure, and in one attack had Sydney camped in their box, but Tiffany Eliadis and Laura Spiranovic had their shots blocked.
It took until just before the hour mark for Sydney to re-assert their authority on the match, when Jodie Taylor got on the end of a ball over the top of the Victory defence and chipped the ball over a stranded Bri Davey to make it 3-1.
Victory failed to answer the goal, as they struggled to string together a decent spell of possession.
On 73 minutes, Sydney heaped more misery on the home side as Nicola Bolger scored a tap in.
It started with a poor clearance from Checker, allowing Sydney to pressure the Victory defence and play the ball wide to the right, where it was crossed in for Kerr, who saw her effort saved as Davey dived at her feet, but the rebound ended up with Bolger who had an easy finish for her second.
There was a flicker of hope for birthday girl Caitlin Friend in the 76th minute as De Vanna crossed from deep, but her acrobatic back flick was saved well by Dumont.
Sydney then added the icing on the cake with what was arguably the goal of the game.
Emma Kete was found on the right side of the box by Jodie Taylor, and she unleashed a stunning volley that looped over Davey into the back of the net.
It was just rewards for Sydney FC, who were the dominant side in the match.
Sydney now face Newcastle Jets, while Victory have to regroup before their trip to Adelaide next week.
Goal Summary
| Melbourne Victory FC 1 | 5 Sydney FC |
|---|---|
| Emma Checker (4′) | |
| Leena Khamis (17′) | |
| Nicola Bolger (21′) | |
| Jodie Taylor (59′) | |
| Nicola Bolger (73′) | |
| Emma Kete (89′) |
Match Stats
| Melbourne Victory FC | Sydney FC | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 (4) | Shots (On Goal) | 13 (9) |
| 1 | Offsides | 5 |
| 3 | Corner Kicks | 8 |
| 5 | Saves | 4 |
| 8 | Fouls | 6 |
| 1/0 | Yellow/Red Cards | 0/0 |
Team Lineups
| Melbourne Victory FC | Sydney FC |
|---|---|
| 1. Brianna Davey | 1. Casey Dumont |
| 3. Jessica Humble | 2. Teresa Polias (c) |
| 4. Katie Hoyle | 4. Alesha Clifford |
| 5. Laura Spiranovic | 5. Elizabeth Ralston |
| 7. Stephanie Catley (c) | 7. Nicola Bolger |
| 9. Caitlin Friend | 8. Amy Harrison |
| 11. Lisa De Vanna | 10. Renee Rollason |
| 13. Tiffany Eliadis | 14. Jodie Taylor |
| 15. Emma Checker | 16. Ellyse Perry |
| 17. Gulcan Koca | 19. Leena Khamis |
| 18. Emily Hulbert | 20. Samantha Kerr |
| Substitutes | |
| 20. Cassandra Dimovski | 17. Shamiran Khamis |
| 6. Cindy Lay | 12. Chloe Logarzo |
| 14. Enza Barilla | 13. Trudy Camilleri |
| 19. Alexandra Natoli | 18. Emma Kete |
| Substitutions | |
| Enza Barilla forEmily Hulbert (46′) | Emma Kete forRenee Rollason (61′) |
| Cindy Lay forLaura Spiranovic (78′) | Chloe Logarzo forLeena Khamis (78′) |
| Alex Natoli forGulcan Koca (82′) | Trudy Camilleri forSamantha Kerr (86′) |
| Yellow Cards | |
| Lisa De Vanna (90+3′) | |